To Lie Or Not To Lie

Have you ever wondered how far people will go to stretch the truth in order to save a few bucks?

Research out of the United Kingdom by global insurer Zurich sheds light on this behavior.

In a poll of 2,000 adults in the UK, one-in-five (20 percent) admit to lying to their insurance company, despite a separate 82 percent knowing that wrong information registered on an insurance form can render the policy invalid.

Why do people lie to their insurer? The reasons are varied:

• 29.3 percent lie because they are unsure of the correct information or didn’t understand the process to begin with;
• 10 percent knowingly lie because they are scared of the consequences of being totally truthful;
• 8 percent even admit to lying as they don’t take the process seriously.

Despite these numbers, the poll also revealed 87 percent of people would not lie to an official body, such as the police or their accountant, in order to save money.

In the words of Zurich home insurance expert, Phil Ost:

It’s really encouraging that most people don’t feel it’s acceptable to lie to save money and honesty really is the best policy when it comes to things like jobs and insurance. The consequences of being found out can be severe and maybe invalidate a policy and potentially result in claims not being paid.”

Maybe insurers should take note that 32 percent of Brits are more comfortable lying online than over the phone, while 34 percent will lie to put a positive spin on a bad situation, and another 10 percent will lie about their weight.

Dr Patrick Fagan, Lecturer in Consumer Behavior, Goldsmiths University, sums it up best:

People lie about all sorts of things – from their weight to their employment experience – but the ‘white’ lie is still the most prevalent…it’s interesting to see that there are still a sizeable group of people who’d be dishonest in more serious and formal situations.”

More on this story from Post Magazine.

Check out I.I.I. facts and statistics on insurance fraud.